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ben sher

Video Review: Fretboard Harmony: Breaking Out of The ‘Box’ by Ben Sher

April 1, 2022 by azsamadlessons Leave a Comment

This release by Professor Ben Sher from Berklee College of Music is a valuable info packed video for guitarists who are stuck in box position fingering shapes.

Professor Sher begins by discussing the problem at hand that he noticed many of his students have (stuck playing in boxed scale and arpeggio fingerings). Then he goes into a step by step logical system for overcoming this issue. He demonstrates fingerings for 3 octave arpeggio and scale shapes (major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, major scales) across 3 octaves.

The explanation and fingerings are great and if you pay attention to his tips on articulation (sliding, hammer-ons, pull-offs) as well as his examples of lines & licks, you get even more out of this video.

There’s also a few licks that he includes so that we can see how these fingerings work in context. These are also on the accompanying PDF written in standard notation.

In conclusion, I love this video & plan to rewatch it to get it really ingrained in my playing. Even if you’re an intermediate or advanced guitarist, you might benefit from investing in this video.

Get it from Mike’s Masterclasses page here:
https://mikesmasterclasses.com/course/fretboard-harmony-breaking-out-of-the-box/

Pros: Great material, very valuable and explained in a logical manner.
Cons: Some examples may require repeated viewing (or slowed down).
TLDR: If you’re stuck playing in position, get this video now & work on the concepts & fingering to solve that problem.

Check out my other book, video & course reviews here:
https://azsamadlessons.com/book-reviews/

[Submissions for Review Consideration]

  • Are you an author who wrote a jazz, guitar or music book?
  • Have you created a DVD or an online video course or subscription based website?
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Please send me a message at azsamad2 at gmail.com with:

For courses: a link to the course/video/product + access info etc.
For books: a link to the book (Dropbox) or PDF attachment (if it’s small) for review consideration.

Depending on whether I dig the book/course, I’ll let you know if I do plan to review it!

I cannot guarantee a review for every submission & if I’m not too into it, I may opt not to review it. I mean, it’s better to get a good review that for me to write a bad review just because it’s not a match for the kind of stuff I dig right? :p

NOTE: All reviews reflect my honest personal opinion so be aware that I will point out both cool Pros and Cons that I see in the work. You dig? 

Filed Under: Guitar Scales, Guitar Technique, Licks, Video Lessons Tagged With: ben sher, guitar technique, how to practice guitar, jazz guitar, jazz guitar improvisation, jazz guitar lesson, jazz guitar licks, mike's masterclasses

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Hi Az Samad here! I am disclosing that I’ve included certain products and links to those products on this site that I will earn an affiliate commission for any purchases you make. 

Whenever possible, I've tried to include a mention that the link is an affiliate link but since the site is so big by now, I'm including this note so so that you are aware.

That being said, as I always mentions - all reviews reflect my honest opinion of the book/course/product. My goal is not to recommend everything to everyone but to give you as much information about my experience with it so that you have a better idea whether it might be for you (or not).

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